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Mr Orlando
24-12-2007, 12:49 PM
More Xmas Misery As Air Chaos Continues


Thousands of people have had their plans for a last-minute Christmas getaway dashed despite the weekend fog lifting.

The appalling conditions which caused disruption at some of Britain's airports and on the roads has gone, leaving a dull and overcast Christmas Eve.

Britain's busiest airport, Heathrow, was forced to cancel nearly 90 flights on Sunday as the fog refused to clear.

And a further 30 flights from Heathrow, five from Gatwick and six from London City airports have been cancelled today as authorities struggle with the knock on effects.

There are also severe delays on flights running in and out of Heathrow - one from Chicago was five hours behind schedule.

Most of the cancelled flights are short-haul domestic or European services.

Almost 1,000 people stayed in all Heathrow's terminals overnight. They were given blankets and water and food shops stayed open.

At Gatwick, 10 BA flights and five Easyjet flights were cancelled, again with many more delayed.

Fog also affected the roads over the weekend.

The main problem areas were the M1, at junction 29-28, where a lane closure caused a traffic jam, the A34 at Oxford, and the M5, junction 17, where there had been an accident.

A record 3.5 million people are quitting freezing temperatures in the UK and heading abroad this festive season.

dmrevis
24-12-2007, 01:37 PM
I understand sometimes that leaving travel till the last minute is the only option for many, but leaving your Christmas travel till the 23rd and 24th of December is just asking for trouble. This is the UK, we dont do organised, efficient transport. :angry:

Simon Veness
24-12-2007, 01:48 PM
Sadly, it only takes a minor interruption of our travel system to cause chaos and this is the perfect example. Can't blame so many people for wanting to get away, but leacing it so late is definitely risky these days. Sincerely hope everyone gets where they need to be in the end.

Catlady
24-12-2007, 04:03 PM
One of my son's friends who lives and works in London but comes from Aberdeen had his flight cancelled from Gatwick yesterday. Apparently Ian has had a text from him saying that he was boarding a plane today but Gatwick was complete chaos. If he doesn't get away I may have an extra guest for Christmas provided he could get a train to Suffolk later!
Don't know why he didn't go earlier but he does work extremely long hours so reckon that's why.